Photo by Karsten Worth
The Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education in an Unstable World
From The Editors
Today's world is radically different from the one in which Moshe Feldenkrais created the method that bears his name. Yet much of Moshe's formative experiences are mirrored in the multiple crises that are unfolding today at an accelerating rate. It is enough to remind ourselves that Moshe was born in Slavuta, a Jewish shtetl in what today is Ukraine, and was later a dedicated participant in the founding of the state of Israel, two parts of the globe currently suffering the traumas of war. But not only that - as a tiny child, Moshe once hid underground with his family for two days while pogroms raged overhead. Later he taught himself self-defense in response to the killings of close friends in street battles, further developed himself through the study of Judo with its founder Jigoro Kano, joined the Allied war effort against the Nazis and, after returning to Israel, when he began to further develop his Method, many of his earliest students were Holocaust survivors.
This quarter's edition of In Touch takes a deeper look at how we respond to traumatic experiences which was also the theme of the October edition of SenseAbility, the Guild's public newsletter. The interview and two articles in that publication provided a glimpse of the Feldenkrais Method that we believe is too often lost in the marketing of our invaluable work. A life-changing injury. A flood. A war. Beyond what we do in Awareness Through Movement® class or a Functional Integration® session, how does the Feldenkrais Method inform our overall attitude towards life?
This edition includes more of the story of Larissa Babij, an Awareness Through Movement teacher living in the war zone in Ukraine. We think that Larissa's perspective is essential to hear for every Feldenkrais® practitioner living in this time of spreading crises since it demonstrates the value of our work in the kind of survival context that Moshe so often highlighted in his teaching.
Larissa shares more excerpts from her blog, A Kind of Refugee in this issue. She also joined In Touch editor Seth Dellinger for a conversation to probe deeper into something she had told us: “My Feldenkrais training prepared me well for living through the uncertainty and turmoil following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
A key discussion point was how the flexibility or rigidity of one's world view can be a decisive survival question under crisis conditions. Acknowledging that most practitioners would likely prefer to avoid violent confrontation of any kind, Larissa nonetheless presents us with a powerful question: What do you do when others bring violence to you?
In addition, Feldenkrais trainer David Zemach-Bersin spoke with In Touch editor Joe Webster about anxiety as a universal human experience. Drawing on five decades of practice and his close attention and reading of new psychological research, David shares valuable insight about how Feldenkrais practitioners can recognize and work with the ever-present feedback loop between body posture and fear.
As the inheritors of Moshe's legacy in this time of increased turmoil in our world, we feel called to renew our commitment to our students and arm them with the tools he gave us to embody a vision of health that empowers a person to cultivate resilience and human dignity in the face of trauma.
In addition, we want to invite more dialogue in our community about our collective self-image as Feldenkrais practitioners in a rapidly changing world.
We invite you, the readers of In Touch, to share your thoughts on our published content by sending letters to the editor letterstointouch@gmail.com to be included in our next edition. (We reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity.)
We look forward to hearing YOUR voice!
Joe, Jane and Seth
